France attacked 25 October 1939

Its June 1940 and PM Chamberlain is still quite ill.
Any suggestions for this ATL of British PM? I don't really see Churchill except if some crisis should occur - (though German terror bombing)?

The during Winter mobilized Infantry Divisions by Germany – some 30 equipped with Czech arms was then ready to swarm the Allies in Belgium and push towards the Channel Coast. Another 15 Divisions were still training making for a German total of 105 Infantry Divisions, 6 Motorized Infantry Divisions and 10 Armoured as the 9 Light Division had finally been able to fit out as a Panzer one.

On the other side of the Hill the WAllies hadn't laid idle – France had mobilized 75 Infantry Divisions, 7 Motorized Infantry Divisions that was about to be real motorized with each Division having its own motorpool instead of a central one, 7 Armoured Divisions with 2 more training and 4 Polish Infantry Divisions and an Armoured Brigade.
Britain had continued mobilization and had the BEF increased to 14 Infantry Divisions counting the 1 Canadian and a mixed NZ – AUS Division; 1 Motorized Infantry Division that was to receive Renault APCs, 2 Armoured Divisions and 1 Tank Brigade. In Britain some 18 Infantry and 2 Armoured Divisions was training.

Belgium had because of losses in men and territory been forced to downscale the Army from 20 Cavalry and Infantry to 12 Infantry Divisions. This however made for generally stronger formations with more automatic weapons, Anti-Tank guns and artillery than before.

In Infantry Divisions the two opposing forces was now of equal numbers but the WAllies had 8 Motorized Infantry Divisions, 9 Armoured Divisions and 2 Armoured Brigades against the Germans
6 Motorized and 10 Panzer Divisions.

The French had also begun a recruitment campaign in mainly Morocco, North Africa and in West Africa where the troops were termed Senegalese besides the replacement troops called up to fill the holes left by the 10 Infantry Divisions already shipped to France.
Finally the French Army had begun rebuilding its 16 Infantry Tank Brigades of which 4 mainly consisting of FT-17's had been virtually destroyed during the fighting to be able to have a nucleus from which to form new Armoured Divisions. These formations were placed in rear areas to have an armoured reserve in case of a German breakthrough of the frontlines.

Antwerp
Since the German attack on Belgium 25 October 1939 and subsequent WAllied advance into the country the British Expeditionary Force and RAF Expeditionary Force had been building up Antwerp port as the supply hub. It had eased the transport of equipment though still the Channel Ports and Brest would be used for transport of personnel to not unsettle the neutrality of the Dutch.

Antwerp was a large port but it was also situated behind the Dutch border to the west where the Schelt River that crossed through Antwerp and then entered Dutch Zeeland Province before emptying into the North Sea.
To use the port for supplies the British had had quite some negotiations with the Dutch Government as RN ships would only be allowed passage of the waterway as single ships not in formations. Merchantmen had escaped restrictions though the Dutch had been rather worried about the whole arrangement. Not to say that the Germans had protested it but since no troops were transported arrangements had been made which had the Dutch put a blind eye to recurrent Luftwaffe violations of Dutch airspace; violations that the Dutch Army Airforce did intercept and had become better at with the recent adoption of the Fokker G-1 as the new standard fighter aircraft – faster and better armed than the Fokker D-XXI which had been crated and shipped off to bolster the defences of the NEI.
These negotiations had made for Germany via the Netherlands been allowed to import some goods that might potentially end up in Germany having been part of industrial process in the Netherlands. One of these goods was oil from the NEI – not exceeding pre-War amounts but then the Dutch had oil ration so some might go to Germany.

The port however was important as it was thé major Belgian port and the country needed it for its imports which had been off negotiations though not to offend Germany regarding Dutch neutrality had to be kept at pre-War level.
To some it was such a convoluted arrangement that would only happen in Wartime – like in another reality where the Soviet Union and Germany were at war and the USA and Japan at war but USA anyway supplying the Soviet Union by shipping going around the Japanese islands - and really shouldn't; but it was one of Europe's major ports and too good not to use to carry supplies in quatity to the BEF and so show the Belgiens that the WAllies wouldn't desert them.

As Antwerp like the French border cities such as Strassbourg, Sedan and Metz and Channel Ports at Oostende, Belgium, Dunquerque, Calais and Boulogne at times had been attacked by German bombers; thus and because of its use as a British Supply hub quite a number of AA-batteries had been set up as had a Radar site to scan the surrounds for German Aircraft approaching the city and port.
Several Belgians had been assigned to support the BEF at Antwerp mostly with damage control parties but also in low-level airraid warning units.
Among these a cartoonist George Remi who would serve with a airraid low-level warning unit which kept him out of the city generally during airraids as those posts were set up in the countryside to the east and up on the Dutch border. Remi had an interest in all thing technical so this was his way of contributing to the defences and get inspiration which would be published post war as his scetches during the War was classified.

Single RN light Warships would usually be present in the port and on the waterway leading to the Channel aiding Airdefences though these would be target of Luftwaffe attacks. Sometimes French Navy units would be seen taking part in that too. This further strained the Dutch neutrality.

The Airdefences and Airraid warning units had had plenty experience since the 25 October 1939 though usually numbers of attackers hadn't been really large perhaps a Gruppe (12-48 aircraft) of Bombers escorted during day by some Squadrons of Fighters.
By night usually only Bombers though some fighters might lurk in the dark skies to pick off interceptors.
The RAF Fighter Squadrons if available also took part in the airdefences along their other duties on the front line.

The bombing of Antwerp
The German offensive having ground to a halt Hitler had raged in OKW of the inability of the Armed Services to get moving.
Late at night Göring had promised Hitler that Luftwaffe would destroy Antwerp port facilities and drive the Belgian dock and railway workers from the place to leave it waste. Göring would however need a few weeks preparations – not that the defences of Antwerp wasn't known to Luftwaffe but to assemble incendiary bombs in numbers so as to set the place ablaze.
Hitler was satisfied.

A late June evening before nightfall Airraid units of the Allied Armies in Belgium detected quite large airunits moving from Northwest Germany towards Belgium. It seemed some had crossed the Dutch border at Maastricht continueing west; another large group circuiting the Dutch coast to approach from the North Sea though this was thought to be a way of dragging No. 11 Group of British Airdefences that would also respond to Luftwaffe attacks on Channel Ports to it and thus keep it off defending Antwerp.

The first attack was carried out by two Groups of 90 Bombers escorted by almost 200 Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters to keep interceptors off.
The majority of the Bombers did get through and the Allied interceptors went back to bases to refuel only to see their reserve taking off as another German attack wave crossed the frontlines and made for Antwerp. This was the first incendiary raid of 200 bombers which were to be followed by another two smaller ones but it didn't matter. Antwerp did burn though the railroad yard was less damaged than expected not much was to arrive that way at the moment.
The next evening it all repeated. And the next and the next.
Population did suffer badly as Belgium even with her large Army had been poorly prepared for war and certainly not of this kind which had quickly overwhelmed the Firebrigade. Even the Royal Engineers present couldn't prevent the devastation.

It is thought that the burning of Antwerp was the reason of the fundamental change of George Remi's cartoons from being optimist and full of technical progression; post war it became dark and negative though some viewed this development as the maturing of the author.

The Dutch afterwards presented a protest to the German Minister to the Hague though this only informed his host that ”when the Elephants fight the grass gets trodden down”.
The shipwrecks at Antwerp port and in the Schelt Canal certainly made it difficult to reopen the waterway to shipping; which latter also made for a Dutch protest to which the German Minister answered that those ships must have tried to leave port after being hit and then sunk in the canal.
The Dutch kept protesting though less vigorously.

Pablo Picasso seeing newspaper pictures in Paris of the devastation of Antwerp painted ”another Guernica”.

The WAllied Airforces began planning retaliatory air attacks on German Strategic targets including such situated in cities be these port ones or inland. Regarding the possibility of providing Fighter escort for Bombers in daylight raids it was immediately realized that the WAllies possessed that already – the Dewoitine D520 with a range of 1250 km/780mi made even Berlin a target! (twice that of the Messerschmitt Bf-109E)
Planning continued from this and Dewoitine asked to develop means to extend the range.

Not realized at the moment the need of pairing French fighters with British bombers was a blessing as it forced both Airforces to seek out crews that could communicate during operations as both found their language to be the superior one and as during early operations the language barrier had accounted for no small difficulties.
The language barrier also had to be overcome at planning and ground units execution of missions which though already had the benefit of joint airdefences having been carried out for almost 8 months – which had been an exercise in getting things running smoothly. Thus due to RAF main running of early interception of Luftwaffe attacks the French pilots had adopted a lot of RAF lingo making things easier; with the British Bombers crews not being quite as well suited to chat in the Franclais as RAF Radar crews or French Fighter pilots.